The demand by consumers for floor tiles which are pleasing and which embody improved safety and reduced use of natural resources has forced planners, designers, manufacturers and vendors to respond to these needs. It is particularly important in the construction industry to make more efficient use of wood and wood products, at least in part because mature trees are being harvested faster than they are being produced. It is also important that material which is substituted for some or all of the wood in the floor tile be safe and not contain harmful chemical products which have potential for long term adverse effects on humans. A simple manufacturing process is necessary in order to make the product at a reasonable cost while yet providing a safe and appealing floor tile.
KEMMLER, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,430,934, discloses a floor covering having a top layer of polyvinyl chloride over a felt or burlap backing. These are obviously not acceptable floor tiles. BARRETT, U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,410 discloses a parquet flooring in which wood blocks are formed into a wood-plastic composite. In BARRETT, an acrylic impregnated wear layer is placed on two layers of raw wood. This is then bonded to a subfloor.
WANG, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,951 discloses a surface covering which may be used for floors, walls, desks, countertops and the like, in which a platy material is included in one or more of the layers of the surface covering. The covering includes a substrate which may be of paper, metal, wood, foil, fabric or a foamable resinous layer such as vinyl chloride. On top of the substrate is a design and an overlying transparent or translucent layer which contains the platy material. A transparent wear layer overlies the entire surface covering to protect and preserve it.
MEISSNER, U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,457 includes a wood veneer flooring in which a backing made from waste rubber and the like is covered with a lining, a wood veneer and a plastic overlay. Similarly, ELMENDORF, U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,203 describes a plywood subfloor onto which is placed a tile having a wood fiber hard board base, a natural wood layer and a vinyl resin coating. Both of these patents used substantial quantities of natural wood since the wood forms a part of the structural integrity of the flooring.
None of the known floor tile methods provide a truly modem floor tile in which natural wood beauty is preserved, using ecologically responsible quantities of wood while at the same time having other important features, particularly relating to safety and environmental concerns. None of the known floor tile withstand sub-floor moisture well. Sub-floor moisture is becoming an increasing problem today as construction is performed more rapidly but less carefully. In a commonly owned co-pending application, one solution to the problems of the prior art has been proposed in which a cement base is cut to a certain size and a veneer formed from both wood and vinyl is applied to the surface or top of the cement to provide a floor tile. This application, entitled COATED CEMENT BOARD TILES, has now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,934. The invention described therein provides a substantially improved tile which is capable of providing superior flame spread resistance and other advantages while eliminating expensive subfloor and installation requirements. However, in instances where the floor tile is to be shaped, the difficulty in the shaping a cement base after the cement has set is significant and reduces the versatility of the tile.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved floor tile which has simplified installation requirements relative to subfloor preparation, and which has environmental and safety advantages.
Another object of this invention is to provide a floor tile which is easily finished using conventional or standard wood working equipment to provide, for example, tongue and groove plank flooring of various configurations.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a safe, moisture resistant, synthetic floor tile with maximum flame and fire resistance.
Other objects will appear hereinafter.